One of the things that can be the most guilt inducing when you have several children is the issue of spending one on one time with individual children. I’ve seen mothers of just two kids worry about this. I have 6 7 kids. If I said that I never once worried that each of my […]
How Not To Hate Parenting
Have you seen this article about how becoming parents makes people LESS happy? It’s pretty fascinating. Go ahead and have a read: Why Parents Hate Parenting This article isn’t saying anything new. There have been others like it, all referencing the dozens of studies that have been done over the decades, most of them coming […]
The Case For Allowances
People differ in their opinions on giving kids an allowance. I’ve heard both sides of the argument and hold the firm opinion that allowances are a good thing for parents and kids, and here’s why. The Case For Allowances Allowances teach kids that work = money. No work = no money. There are chores […]
How Older Kids Benefit From Having Younger Siblings
My oldest son was a Happy Accident. (Apparently, the cervical cap doesn’t work if you don’t use it. Who knew!?) Of course, once I had him I realized I had found my niche. And I also knew right away that I didn’t want him to be an only child. I know what some say. That […]
Running Errands with Kids
Today I had to go out and get my car tag renewed. As usual I had a few kids in tow. Shortly after we got into line, a mother entered with 2 small kids. The younger, a little boy of 3 or 4, quickly began making his presence known. He was very loud. And he […]
Conflict Resolution
In any family, there is conflict. In a larger family, there is more conflict! This week for family meeting, the important item on the agenda was: Conflict Resolution I created a simple Conflict Resolution Model and printed it out. It goes something like this: 1) I FEEL… (name the emotion) 2) WHEN YOU… (action […]
Family Meeting
At our house, we recently started a new weekly tradition. Family Meeting Every Monday night we have family meeting. Do you have something similar at your house? Family Meetings are a chance for us to gather and: Discuss future plans (weekend fun, vacations, etc) Talk about goals we have as a family Get input from […]
How To Enjoy The Postpartum Period
Update: Since this post I’ve added two more babies to my life so I’ve had a chance to learn more about how to enjoy the postpartum period! I wrote this after my fifth baby was born. It’s hard to believe my little one is almost 9 months old. It seems like yesterday I was kissing her […]
I Have My Reasons
Sometimes you gotta pull the mom card. Like earlier. When I was in the bathroom doing what one does in there. (Sorry for the visual.) And one 8 year old daughter comes up banging on the door (of course), asking, “Moooo-oom, can I watch SpongeBob on your compuuuuuuter?“ “No honey, not now.” “Whyyyyyy?” Now. I […]
Things I Learned By Watching BABIES
Have you seen the documentary Babies yet? It’s totally adorable. If you have Netflix, you can watch it on instant play. Go ahead. I’ll wait. Anyway, since the movie is an educational kind of thing I thought I would share some gems I learned from it. Things I Learned By Watching Babies (Warning: spoiler alert.) […]